Fernando Lugo
Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez (; born 30 May 1951) is a Paraguayan politician and laicized Catholic bishop who was President of Paraguay from 2008 to 2012. Previously he was a Roman Catholic priest and bishop, serving as Bishop of the Diocese ...
, elected
President of Paraguay
The president of Paraguay ( es, Presidente del Paraguay), officially known as the President of the Republic of Paraguay ( es, Presidente de la República del Paraguay), is according to the Constitution of Paraguay the head of the executive bran ...
in 2008, was
impeached
Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements.
In ...
and removed from office by the
Congress of Paraguay
Paraguay's bicameral Congress ''(Congreso)'' consists of a 45-member Senate and an
80-member Chamber of Deputies. It serves as the legislative branch of the Paraguayan state.
Both chambers of Congress are elected concurrently with the pre ...
in June 2012. On 21 June the
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
voted 76 to 1 to impeach Lugo, and the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
removed him from office the following day, by 39 votes to 4, resulting in Vice President
Federico Franco
Luis Federico Franco Gómez (born 24 July 1962) is a Paraguayan politician who was President of Paraguay from June 2012 until August 2013. A member of the Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA), he was elected as Vice President of Paraguay in th ...
, who had broken with Lugo, becoming President. Lugo contends he was denied
due process
Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pers ...
because he did not have enough time to prepare a defense. A number of Latin American governments declared the proceeding was effectively a ''
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
''. Lugo himself formally accepted the impeachment, but called it a "parliamentary coup".
[
]
Background
The election of Lugo to the presidency in 2008 broke a 61-year period in office for the Colorado Party (ANR-PC). Lugo was aided by the presence of Federico Franco
Luis Federico Franco Gómez (born 24 July 1962) is a Paraguayan politician who was President of Paraguay from June 2012 until August 2013. A member of the Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA), he was elected as Vice President of Paraguay in th ...
of the traditional opposition Authentic Radical Liberal Party
The Authentic Radical Liberal Party ( es, Partido Liberal Radical Auténtico or ''PLRA'') is a centrist liberal political party in Paraguay. The party is a full member of Liberal International. The ''liberales'', as they are known, are the leadi ...
(PLRA) on the ticket as its vice presidential candidate. Lugo's electoral coalition, the Patriotic Alliance for Change
The Patriotic Alliance for Change ( es, Alianza Patriótica por el Cambio, APC) was a Paraguayan electoral alliance.
Its candidate in the 2008 election was Fernando Lugo, who won the election.
Composition
Its members included:http://www.abc.co ...
(APC), was able to elect him as President (gaining 42.3% of the vote, against the second-placed Colorado candidate's 31.8%). However the Liberals and Colorados retained a majority of both houses of Congress. The Liberal Party, initially a member of the Alliance, withdrew in 2009, leaving the Alliance with just a handful of Congressional seats.
A U.S. Embassy cable from March 2009 (posted on WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks () is an international Nonprofit organization, non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous Source (journalism), sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activism, Internet acti ...
) discussed the intention of Lino Oviedo
Lino César Oviedo Silva (23 September 1943 – 2 February 2013) was the leader of the National Union of Ethical Citizens, which split from the Colorado Party (Paraguay), Colorado Party in 2002.
Life and work
Early career
Oviedo was born in po ...
and ex-President Nicanor Duarte
Óscar Nicanor Duarte Frutos (born 11 October 1956) is a Paraguayan politician who served as President of Paraguay from 2003 to 2008. In 2013, President Horacio Cartes appointed Duarte as Ambassador to Argentina, a diplomatic posting he held fro ...
to organise the impeachment of Lugo as a means to gain power. The cable is quoted as saying "Duarte's and Oviedo's shared goal: Find a 'cause celebre' to champion so as to change the current political equation, break the political deadlock in Congress, impeach Lugo and regain their own political relevance. Oviedo's dream scenario involves legally impeaching Lugo, even if on spurious grounds." The document goes on to suggest that Oviedo would be a leading candidate for the vice presidency, once Federico Franco had replaced Lugo as President, while Duarte might attain the Senate presidency. The document concludes "Farfetched? Perhaps. But not entirely unprecedented in Paraguayan politics."
In mid-May 2012 around 150 landless farmers occupied the ''Campos Morombi'' belonging to ex-Colorado Senator Blas Riquelme.[ The farmers said the land, in ]Curuguaty
Curuguaty (; originally called Villa de San Isidro Labrador de los Reyes Católicos de Curuguaty) is a city and a district in the Canindeyú Department of Paraguay, that was the 4th and last capital of Paraguay during the Paraguayan War in 1869†...
in the eastern Canindeyú Department
Canindeyú () is a department in Paraguay. The capital is the city of Salto del Guairá.
Canindeyú comes from the Guarani words Kaninde - macaw; ju - yellow, blue-and-yellow macaw (''Ara ararauna'').
Districts
The department is divided in 16 ...
, had been taken illegally during the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner
Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda (; 3 November 1912 – 16 August 2006) was a Paraguayan army officer and politician who served as President of Paraguay from 15 August 1954 to 3 February 1989.
Stroessner led a coup d'état on 4 May 1954 with the ...
.[ On 15 June 2012 a police operation to evict landless farmers, enforcing a court order obtained by Riquelme,][ led to the death of 6 police officers and 11 farmers.][ ''Crónica'', 20 June 2012]
Lugo creó una comisión civil para investigar masacre en Curuguaty
The eviction involved over 300 police evicting over 150 farmers; according to the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, "the eviction escalated into violence and the farmers opened fire on the police."